| State Dept. Aide Briefs Capitol Hill Staffers: Benghazi A Terrorist Attack |
| Oct-08-2012 |
| Keywords: aide, state department, benghazi, consulate, terrorist attack |
The Obama administration's State Department is facing more questions over what it knew about the attack on our consulate in Benghazi, and why requests for more security were denied.
A day after the Sept. 11 attack, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton briefed Capitol Hill staffers that the assault that resulted in the murder of four U.S. citizens was indeed a terrorist attack.
Fox News is reporting, that on Sept. 12, Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick F. Kennedy delivered the assessment in an unclassified conference call with staff aides to House and Senate lawmakers.
Kennedy's conclusions exemplify the inconsistency in understanding within the department and the administration over happened in Benghazi.
Four days after Kennedy's conference call U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice went on five Sunday morning news programs, insisting that the attacks were not coordinated or premeditated, but were rather the result of a spontaneous mob action, inspired by an anti-Muslim YouTube video.
Adding the laundry list of questions facing the State Department, Lt. Col. Andy Wood is claiming that requests for increased security measures leading up to the attack were denied.
Lt. Col. Wood is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday.
Wood, who is the former head of a Special Forces security team, has already said in interviews that security officials wanted "more, not less" security staffing but that his team was pulled from Tripoli before the attack.
Lawmakers' questions of late have focused sharply on whether the State Department had let security slide in a violent and volatile region.
"My understanding is that there were requests made, and those requests were denied," Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told Fox News.
In an interview with CBS News, Wood said that when the State Department was asked for more security, they said: "You've got to do with less."
Wood's testimony, along with that of other officials Wednesday, could fuel concerns that the State Department may not have been prepared for the mounting security threat in eastern Libya. |
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Posted by Lou Dobbs Staff at 8:00 PM Email to a friend |
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